Electrical usage for your house???

[ragkar]

I've got a 2300 sq.ft. log house in eastern Pennsylvania.

I looked at my electrical usage histogram and I average 420KWH from November through May (oil furnace heat). When I bought this house it was all electrical baseboard heat. I had it converted to hydraul--- anyhow oil heat with baseboards for $7000 nine years ago. I haven't regretted it. I also put in folding according doors to convert the house to two heat zones because one zone has a nineteen foot ceiling. That zone is set to stay cooler during the winter. I'm also very careful to turn off lights and the TV when I leave the room.

During June through October I average 870KWH. I attribute that to being up later hours and a window air conditioner.

When I first started out, single with a two bedroom apartment, I was usually billed 50KWH per month. Some months when I didn't meet that minimum, I would leave the lights on longer and squander electricity. I can't figure how I used so little electricity.

 

[capt jack]

Eddie,
If you have any sort of underground electric line PAST YOU METER (such as an underground line to a shop build.) check these! Any break in the insulation will allow watts/$$$$ to be pumped into the ground.
Jack

 

[Bird]

Eddie, it's nearly impossible to compare electric bills because of the different locales, different size homes, etc, but you know that already...Yesterday, in the mail, I received my monthly copy of "Texas Co-Op Power" magazine... I am on Pedernales Electric Co-Op.... anyhow, they now off something called "My Use Energy Analyzer"... I haven't tried it yet but apparently, I will be able to go online, pull up my bill/account and get a visual of individual days, average high and low temps and energy usage... it appears to be quite specific... Ya might contact your provider and see if they have something similar... Good luck with it.

That sounds like an interesting feature to analyze your usage, although I'm not sure what you would change as a result. TXU Energy doesn't offer that, but they do have a very lengthy questionnaire you can fill out in half a day or less and they'll recommend changes, and tell you supposedly how your home compares to the average. They show the "average" home like mine would use $2,511 worth of electricity a year and I'm on track to use $2,600 this year. However, my actual cost last year was $2145.64.

 

[The Dougster]

Bird, you are right in that a daily survey of usage would not allow anyone to change anything other than daily habits, but it is interesting to see how the daily temps affect usage .. obviously Eddie must start doing a survey of consumption and get some kind of idea of what he needs to do. Past experience suggests attic ventilation/insulation is the most effective. After that, start looking for leakage in and around doors and windows, electrical outlets, etc.... Especially pay attention to the AC distribution. Make certain he isn't blowing cold air into his attic...

 

[windy acers]

I EXPERIENCED A SIMULAR SITUATION. I DISCOVERED THAT WHEN YOU LEAVE A SATALITE RECIVER ON 24 HRS IT WAS COSTING US 40.00 A MONTH. ALSO WE WERE THE LAST HOUSE ON THE POWER COMPANYS LINE AND THE VOLTAGE WOULD DROP TO LESS THAN 100 VOLTS.THIS WILL INCRESE USAGE. THE POWER COMPANY WENT TO HEAVER WIRE ON THE MILE LONG STREET AND CHANGED EVERY ONES TRANSFORMER.OUR BILLS WERE MORE NORMAL. BUY A PLUG IN VOLT METER AND MONITER IT.

 

[EddieWalker]

Eddie,
If you have any sort of underground electric line PAST YOU METER (such as an underground line to a shop build.) check these! Any break in the insulation will allow watts/$$$$ to be pumped into the ground.
Jack

Interesting!!!

I have a 1,200 amp meter that I ran two line from to my house. One goes to a two hundred amp breaker box that just does my HVAC and water heater. It's way under utilized, but I plan on needing it down the line when I open the RV Park. The other 200 amp breaker box is in my shop. I handles the outlets in there, my parents 50 amp outlet for their RV and then another 100 amp sub panel the powers all actual house. I have the dryer, stove, outlets and lights on that sub panel.

The run is about 200 feet. I'd have to measure it again to know the exact distance, but for estimating, that's pretty close.

To get from the meter to the house, I burried two seperate, aluminum direct burial lines in the same trench. Where the line goes under my road and where I will be installing sewage and water lines, it's 8 feet deep. As it gets closer to the house, it works it's way up to 4 feet deep. My soil is red clay and does not have a single rock in it. I did not use conduit, just layed the wire in the trench and burried it.

If the wire is exposed to the soil, then would I be able to tell this by turning off all my breakers in the house and watching the meter? If the meter is still moving, then it sounds like I need to replace one or both of those lines. I can also turn off the lines with another breaker in the panel next to the meter to isolate which line it is if I have to do that.

The meter is digital and was replace about a year ago with one that they can read from their office. From what I can tell, the meter before and this newer meter are both giving me high usage for the small home.

This is something that I've never heard of before. Do you know of a link that will explain this to me?

Thank you,
Eddie

 

[zzvyb6]

My 4000 sqft house used 540 kwh last month plus 587 for the interuptable A/C. And the A/C was on day and night set to 76 degrees. The interuptable feature means the DTE can shut off the compressor via a radio controlled meter for 20 minutes out of an hour a few times per day if necessary. You get a big break on cost.

The Kill-A-Watt devices are on the rack at my local Costco store for $26.00.
I use one to check my pto alternator voltage and frequency and another to check my appliances. A 50" LCD HD TV uses the most juice at my place other than the oven. The welder and air compressor take the most power out of my barn. I wouldn't think a leak out of a wire would last very long before it shorted out or blew a hole in the ground (That happend to my shed soon after a lightning hit). Is there anybody else who'se tapped into your electric feed and is getting a free ride? That's pretty common around here in the township with all the remote buildings and field outlets.

 

[dex3361]

Hey Eddie I live in a 3400 SF mid entry(1700SF up and 1700SF down) that is very well insulated, all electric, well pump and I use 90% CFL bulbs.I have mostly energy star appliances. I average 2908KWH power usage with my minimum power used 2117KWH and my max power used 4286kwh for the past year. I have actively been replacing my incandescant bulbs with CFL bulbs and just installed a 14 seer Heat pump (replacing a 8 seer that was 20 years old) I also use a wood burner on the coldest days. I have a son who knows its time to get out of the shower because the water is cold and a daughter who is only a little better. We are looking at the possibility of a huge rate increase and I am on a mission to reduce the amout we use.

 

[capt jack]

Eddie,
Don't know where I learned this from, but I do remember a house nearby having super high bills for years till they discovered this cause. I just got off the phone with a buddy of mine who has been an electric co. lineman for 20+ years. He says this absolutly can happen. It would'nt have to be a rock cut, a small nick in the insulation from the factory or those handling it from that point until you put it in the trench could be your problem. It may not be the case , but with the amount of in ground service you have that would be a good place to look. As for a link , maybe google has something. Keep us updated.
Jack

 

[kenstrac]

Eddie I have a 2300 sq ft house well pump 1hp oil fired radiant floor heat+pellet stove,80 gal electric tank 25 cuft fridge front load washer electric dryer all new energy efficient, the house is 1/3 cathedral ceiling 24 ft high the garage has 5hp compressor table saw,band saw,drill press radial arm saw,planner,dust collecting system,welder, and is heated
The KW usage 861KW highest winter,465 summer lowest, total for house and garage.
The farm I owned before this had 3800sqft with all old energy efficient appliances FHW heat & HW oil fired,20X40 pool and a 48x44 barn and we used about 1400-2000KWH My garage was on a separate meter and that was about 1000-1200KWH but that had 400watt metal halide lights and all the tools you would need lathe, welders,compressors hyd machine part cleaner,radial drill most of the machines were 3ph and i made my own converter so I had to run that to.
To check your wire check to see if the meter is turning with load side shut off then I would shut the load side and the line side off and ohm the phase 1 to neutral then to ground and the same with phase 2 then 1-2 at line end and at load end at 200 ft you could have a different grd potential .
BTW what is your voltage when everything is on what size wire was run for the 200ft .
I hope you find out why you are using so much power.


BTW you don't have any grow lamps do you

 

[irvingj]

Yep. I concur, Eddie- you've got a leak somewhere if your meter's accurate. I occasionally see 2000KWH, but only in the dead of winter when the heat pump's running a lot-- and EVERYTHING in my house (1800 sq ft) is electric: stove, washer, dryer, water heater, etc. (!) Most of the time it's closer to 700-1000KWH.

 

[jas67]

When you check things like your fridge, the compressor isn't always running, so the instantaneous load will change at times.
check and make sure an electric heater in an Air hander isn't on accidently.

The Kill-a-watt has a watt-hour mode that is great for appliances that don't run continuously. It also will tell you how long it has been plugged in, so connect your freezer or fridge to it, and then let it go for a day or so, then check the watt-hours and then divide by the number of hours, andthat tells you the average power. You can then multiply that by 24x30 to get the approx usage per month.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I EXPERIENCED A SIMULAR SITUATION. I DISCOVERED THAT WHEN YOU LEAVE A SATALITE RECIVER ON 24 HRS IT WAS COSTING US 40.00 A MONTH. ALSO WE WERE THE LAST HOUSE ON THE POWER COMPANYS LINE AND THE VOLTAGE WOULD DROP TO LESS THAN 100 VOLTS.THIS WILL INCRESE USAGE. THE POWER COMPANY WENT TO HEAVER WIRE ON THE MILE LONG STREET AND CHANGED EVERY ONES TRANSFORMER.OUR BILLS WERE MORE NORMAL. BUY A PLUG IN VOLT METER AND MONITER IT.

Power is Voltage times Current (P=VI), assuming no power factor, since you probably are metered in KW, and not KVA. If Voltage decreases, power decreases, not increases. Assuming your power load is not changing, then if your voltage decreases, the current will increase, but the power remains the same.
If the power company changed your transformer, they changed the voltage of their distribution line, but this shouldn't effect you. did the power company explain how this effected your bill?

For the Satellite, assuming you pay 10 cents/kwh your box uses 4.63 amps, which seems high to me.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

The Kill-a-watt has a watt-hour mode that is great for appliances that don't run continuously. It also will tell you how long it has been plugged in, so connect your freezer or fridge to it, and then let it go for a day or so, then check the watt-hours and then divide by the number of hours, andthat tells you the average power. You can then multiply that by 24x30 to get the approx usage per month.

Right, I have a couple kill a watts. I was talking about amp probing in the panel, which will be instantaneous.
I saw a newer version of the kill-a-watt in Costco tonight. The new one didn't have all the buttons labeled.

 

[heehaw]

a good monitor is called a TED: "the energy detective": you can put it in your breakerbox an remotely monitor power usage: then turn the breakers off one at a time an see if it changes: the more expensive models can be plugged into a computer to download the info...
heehaw

 

[Sigarms]

2288 kWh for the month of June (hot summer in NC)

3500 sq ft house, high square footage of window area, freezer in the basement, two lights out back running at night, and three independent HVAC systems (2 dual fuel, one A/C-gas for below grade basemet).

Yearly average electric bill around $200

Last year my electric bill doubled to over $400 that had me scratching my head. Turned out the well (lift) pump was running 24/7.

 

[kenstrac]

2288 kWh for the month of June (hot summer in NC)

3500 sq ft house, high square footage of window area, freezer in the basement, two lights out back running at night, and three independent HVAC systems (2 dual fuel, one A/C-gas for below grade basemet).

Yearly average electric bill around $200

Last year my electric bill doubled to over $400 that had me scratching my head. Turned out the well (lift) pump was running 24/7.

You only pay $16.66 per month average.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

a good monitor is called a TED: "the energy detective": you can put it in your breakerbox an remotely monitor power usage: then turn the breakers off one at a time an see if it changes: the more expensive models can be plugged into a computer to download the info...
heehaw

I forgot about TED, I loaded the software once to test. It's a nice product, which sits on the house mains, so you basically monitor the same point as the utility company. It has a remote monitor, or computer monitor, that lets you look all the time at what your energy cost and usage is. I plan on doing a similar function with a watt meter tied to my Web Energy Logger.

 

[westcliffe01]

Eddie: I have 1300 sq floor plan, walkout basement with an additional 600 sq ft finished. Water is from a deep well (about 250 ft) and sewage to a holding tank with the macerator pump that pumps out to the city system (septics outlawed here about 8 years ago). Home and water is heated with natural gas and wood stove.

Dryer, lights, stove and air conditioning is electrical. Last months usage was 575kwh. Goes up to about 750kwh per month if it is hot enough that the air conditioner has to run almost continuously. Do not have a ventilated attic or whole house fan due to humidity in high 90's whenever the temperature is high. Last year had temps in the 90's for well over 3 months. If these conditions were more frequent, we would have to do something to reduce the heat input into the house. Earthtubes (bury 6" -10 pipe at foundation depth or deeper over 100ft to cool make up air for the house instead of pulling in hot ambient air.

Thanks, it's shocking the difference in usage!!! I'm using twice as much electricity or more!!

I have an electric water heater,but changed it a few months ago without any change in our usage.

The hot tub is drained and the circuit breakers are turned off.

The house is 1,000 sq feet with 8 ft ceilings except the family room, which has 11ft ceiling at the peak. There are a total of five windows in the house. Each bedroom has a double pained 3040 window, the kitchen is a 2030 and the family room has a 5040 window. The house is well insulated and shouldn't be very hard to hear or cool. Those space heaters work great and after we take off the chill, will often just have one on to keep us comfortable. The AC is set for 78 most of the time, but Steph does get hot and will lower it to 74. I know that uses more power, but it's not extreme and it shouldn't be adding that much to my energy usage.

My dad is staying in his RV behind us, but the difference in usage from when he's not here to when he is here is minimal and I've accounted for that.

I have a refrigerator and a freezer in my shop that are running 24/7. There was a refrigerator that we had in there that we thought might be using allot of electricity, but it died and for a few months, we just had the freezer going without any noticable change in energy usage. Now with a new fridge, there still isn't any significant change in our usage.

It seems to me that we have these things that should use a normal amount of electricity, but somehow, we're using twice as much as we should, probably three times as much, but I don't know that for sure. It does seem that something is burning allot of power in this house and I don't have a clue what it is.

Could the heat pump or HVAC system be using it all up? What would you look for or how would you test it?

Thank you,
Eddie

 

[txdon]

Eddie, Yearly average in the all electric cabin was about 600 kWh per month.
Low of 410 kWh in May and high of 900 last September's bill.